"Lottery Fever" is the first episode of the tenth season of the animatedcomedy seriesFamily Guy. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 25, 2011. The episode follows the Griffin family after they win the state lottery, and go on to spend the money with no regard. Peter becomes power hungry, and demands that Quagmire and Joe perform tasks for him when he invests in one of their projects. This ultimately causes the group to end their friendship, to the dismay of Peter's wife, Lois, who tells her husband that the money has changed him for the worse. After continually wasting the money on various expenditures, the family discovers that they have gone broke, and reluctantly return to their lives as a lower middle class family. Peter also goes on to repair his broken friendships, after begging Joe and Quagmire for their forgiveness.

Contents

Plot

The Griffin family begin living on a stricter budget. A local news story on the lottery influences Peter to buy a ticket in hopes that he will win and set the family on a better financial platform. Peter reveals to his family that he has bought several thousand lottery tickets, admitting that he has taken out a second mortgage on the house in order to buy them. After watching the results of the lottery that night, they discover that they have indeed won it. The family are unable to decide how they should spend all the money, though Lois states that she does not want it to change their lifestyle. Defiant, Peter decides to begin living lavishly, and quits his job.

After Peter agrees to invest in Quagmire's projects, involving penisenhancement, Peter demands that he and Joe hang out with him in order to pay him back, and perform random tasks (including Joe asking for Stevie Nicks to play three songs for Bonnie). The two become annoyed by Peter's demands and they decide to leave Peter and end their friendship. Peter continues to spend the money with no regard. Eventually Lois warns him that he is changing for the worse, along with the other family members. Peter tells her that they no longer have to worry about expenses, and presents her with a blood diamond, winning her over. When they go to a restaurant, Peter discovers his credit card got declined, and his money disappeared. After buying more lottery tickets, winning again, and then blowing it again, the family is distraught over losing their fortune, and Peter returns to the local bar later that day to repair his friendship with Joe and Quagmire. He admits that the money caused him to forget who his real friends are; Quagmire and Joe accept his apology, and offer him money from the investment that he had given them. The family then goes back to living comfortably at their home in Quahog, despite being depressed over having everything and then losing it.[1]

Cultural references

Peter forces Quagmire to watch True Blood.[8][9] Peter jumping in a room full of gold coins is a reference to the animated series Duck Tales[9]. The bar scene in which the waiter Peter like starts to sing, is a reference to an internet meme featuring Eduard Khil.

The episode received mixed reviews. Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club graded the episode a C, stating "I would have less of a problem with the typically shallow excuse for a plot if there was more funny material, but even by Family Guy standards, there wasn’t a whole lot in this episode".[9] Kate Moon of TV Fanatic gave a 3/5 rating.[8] She disliked the parts where Peter "[was] acting like a douche to his friends", calling them "[not] interesting enough to watch for 23 minutes".[8] She also stated the episode would have "vastly improved" if the plot was on Brian and Stewie.[8]

The episode debuted in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2012, (and was followed by Seahorse Seashell Party) it achieved 1.55 million viewers.[12]